Brazil’s Bolsonaro: Only God will remove me from power

By: Aly Mohamed, Staff reporter, the Pawprint

He addressed the tens of thousands of his supporters gathering in São Paulo that only God could remove him from office. He also renewed his attacks on Congress and the Supreme Court, accusing them of prosecuting him and his political associates. Several inquiries involving Mr Bolsonaro have lately been granted by the court.

The demonstrations were organized by opposition parties and trade unions, and they took place exactly one year before the country’s elections. Mr. Bolsonaro is currently trailing in the polls. Many Brazilians are dissatisfied with the president’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed over 600,000 people.

More than 100 impeachment petitions have been submitted with the Chamber of Deputies against Mr Bolsonaro. However, its leader has declined to investigate them. The Supreme Court of Brazil has approved multiple probes into Mr Bolsonaro. The protests on Saturday follow a series of rallies in support of Mr Bolsonaro last month. 

They were interpreted as an attempt to show that he can still gather large throngs of supporters, despite recent polls showing him trailing his left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by nine percentage points.

The elections aren’t scheduled to take place until next October, but Mr. Bolsonaro’s support ratings have plummeted to an all-time low. According to an Atlas Institute poll, 61 percent of Brazilians rated his government’s performance as poor or extremely poor, up from 23 percent when he took office in January 2019.

The anti-Bolsonaro protests brought together center-left parties, trade unions, and social movements in a startling display of solidarity as they advocated for his removal. While presidential candidate Ciro Gomes attended the Rio de Janeiro protest, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not present. Lula is largely anticipated to run against Bolsonaro in the presidential election on October 2, 2022. In a projected 2022 matchup, polls show him ahead of Bolsonaro.

To protest rising fuel costs, a group carried a big inflatable gas canister emblazoned with the words: “Is it pricey? Bolsonaro is to blame.” Even though the president’s popularity declines during the year, he remains more popular than previous impeached presidents. Despite the fact that more than 130 impeachment petitions have been filed since Bolsonaro entered office, the lower house’s speakers have refused to initiate procedures.